My NWZ-A818 Comments

[aob9]

Hi all,

A battery problem with my A805 prompted me to consider more memory for my 'mobile audio' needs. I will be submitting my A805 for repair but I went ahead and ordered an NWZ-A818 from my local Sony Centre . Well, I got a phonecall as I was leaving work yesterday and I collected it on the way home.

Okay, I eventually got it out of the packaging after much struggling. I mean this was wedged into the box and I couldn't unpack it without tearing the packaging a little.

Comments;

1/ Does not receive album art from WMP 11. Every other device in my house ( kids Creative Zen etc) successfully receives album art from WMP, no problem. On the 818 only the album icon is represented by album art, the individual tracks are not. This cannot be a tagging problem as other devices don't have this issue. Anyhow, when I look at 'MY MUSIC' within VISTA with Windows Explorer each track is listed by it's cover art icon.

I tried using ''drag and drop''; same issue.

2/ I Installed Media Manager 1.1 for Walkman to see if this would help.....NO, in fact it will only import 7.1 GB of my 15 GB MP3 collection. WMP, REALPLAYER and QUICKTIME all correctly import my entire MP3 collection so I have no idea what this is all about.

3/ My A805 came complete with 'Image Converter 3.0'. This excellent software allows me to literally 'cram a sofa down the toilet'. No matter what I throw at it gets converted and transferred to my A805, automatically. This software doesn't even see my NWZ-A818......so your on your with video with this device.

4/ This may only be a minor issue but the 'Home Page ( icons menu)' on the A818 is not as graphically sleek as on the A808.

Does album art really matter? ........Probably not in the grand scheme of things. Do I really need it? Probably not either. Will I try and fix it..............I don't have the appetite to be honest...........but why be so difficult Sony?

As for the video issues.I have other conversion software that works just fine, but again why did Sony take this away?

Bottom line.....The older NW-A80* series is a much better device by a long shot........

I really can't make up my mind about keeping the NWZ-A818. I have always liked Sony SQ and I don't NEED to fix the album art issue. After all,the player will spend most of it's time in a leather case.

More importantly, despite these issues this is the way SONY is going and we may have to go with it IMHO. I still can't see a better device out there ( and I have looked).

Cheers.

Anthony

[Old skool D]

Hi all,

A battery problem with my A805 prompted me to consider more memory for my 'mobile audio' needs. I will be submitting my A805 for repair but I went ahead and ordered an NWZ-A818 from my local Sony Centre . Well, I got a phonecall as I was leaving work yesterday and I collected it on the way home.

Okay, I eventually got it out of the packaging after much struggling. I mean this was wedged into the box and I couldn't unpack it without tearing the packaging a little.

Comments;

1/ Does not receive album art from WMP 11. Every other device in my house ( kids Creative Zen etc) successfully receives album art from WMP, no problem. On the 818 only the album icon is represented by album art, the individual tracks are not. This cannot be a tagging problem as other devices don't have this issue. Anyhow, when I look at 'MY MUSIC' within VISTA with Windows Explorer each track is listed by it's cover art icon.

I tried using ''drag and drop''; same issue.

2/ I Installed Media Manager 1.1 for Walkman to see if this would help.....NO, in fact it will only import 7.1 GB of my 15 GB MP3 collection. WMP, REALPLAYER and QUICKTIME all correctly import my entire MP3 collection so I have no idea what this is all about.

3/ My A805 came complete with 'Image Converter 3.0'. This excellent software allows me to literally 'cram a sofa down the toilet'. No matter what I throw at it gets converted and transferred to my A805, automatically. This software doesn't even see my NWZ-A818......so your on your with video with this device.

4/ This may only be a minor issue but the 'Home Page ( icons menu)' on the A818 is not as graphically sleek as on the A808.

Does album art really matter? ........Probably not in the grand scheme of things. Do I really need it? Probably not either. Will I try and fix it..............I don't have the appetite to be honest...........but why be so difficult Sony?

As for the video issues.I have other conversion software that works just fine, but again why did Sony take this away?

Bottom line.....The older NW-A80* series is a much better device by a long shot........

I really can't make up my mind about keeping the NWZ-A818. I have always liked Sony SQ and I don't NEED to fix the album art issue. After all,the player will spend most of it's time in a leather case.

More importantly, despite these issues this is the way SONY is going and we may have to go with it IMHO. I still can't see a better device out there ( and I have looked).

Cheers.

Anthony

Anthony

Thanks for your review. I had a similar thing with the A829. I didn't find WMP11 all that easy to use, in comparision to SS, and the Sony Media Manager for WALKMAN 1.1 wasn't better. Looks as if Sony have a bit more to do to assemble a better DAP, software.

[markey]

Seems like Sony is taking one step forward and two steps back. I myself am having serious problems transferring my 320 kbps mp3's which were ripped in SonicStage over to WMP 11. I did rip some mp3's in WMP 11 and I managed to transfer them over to Sonic Stage. It just doesn't seem to work so smoothly in reverse.

I picked up a pink A816 for the wife back in November of last year. TBH using it on her VAIO laptop it hasn't given me any problems what so ever. Both mp3's and album art transfer from laptop to the A816 with no problem what so ever.

I also find Sonic Stage 4.3 a lot more user friendly than WMP 11.

[Old skool D]

I forgor to mention. With the CD rom that came with the A829, there was a MP3 converter that converted (or was supposed to) all my ATRAC songs to MP3. I haven't got many to convert, (about 9) but it only managed 2! Bring back SS

[prankz]

Hmmm strange. Dont know why you lot are having problems with the A818 & WMP11. Unpacking from the box was easy enough, didnt have to tear the box. Album art is working fine for me. Videos are working fine too. WMP11 & A818 sync beautiful together. And I find WMP11 easy to use too.

[juli_]

I did rip some mp3's in WMP 11 and I managed to transfer them over to Sonic Stage.

It just doesn't seem to work so smoothly in reverse.

It's nothing to do with WMP, it's because SS 'hides' the music in its own location, whereas everything in the Music folder is easily viewable in WMP.

I remember spending many a fruitless hour looking for my mp3s. I couldn't figure out where they were for a LONG time.

But once you know how to access the stupid SS 'hidden' folder, it's easy to transfer them to the Music folder, and then they'll show up in WMP.

Edited April 12, 2008 by juli

[markey]

Hmmm strange. Dont know why you lot are having problems with the A818 & WMP11. Unpacking from the box was easy enough, didnt have to tear the box. Album art is working fine for me. Videos are working fine too. WMP11 & A818 sync beautiful together. And I find WMP11 easy to use too.

I'm so happy for you. We all know where to come when we have a problem lol

[juli_]

WMP11 & A818 sync beautiful together. And I find WMP11 easy to use too.

I guess you haven't used SonicStage as your main music manager then.

WMP is 'easy to use' when you've been using it for years (like I have), but if you've been used to other software, then WMP isn't as simple as it looks. The default settings for 'rip' are set to 128kbps (markey, check the settings in the options), and there are various other settings that need to be looked at and changed, ie; "Check internet for media info". If I leave the box checked (as the default) all my album art gets changed from what it was, to what WMP thinks it should be!

The default settings need to be tweaked in various ways before even starting!

[aob9]

Album art is working fine for me.WMP11 & A818 sync beautiful together. And I find WMP11 easy to use too.

............................and if you tell me how you do it I will be so grateful.

[prankz]

juli - I have used SonicStage. I used to own a Sony NetMD few years back. Obviously back then no one liked SonicStage and they still dont, but to be honest I never had a problem with SonicStage.

Anyways onto WMP11. Yes there are some settings to be checked. But this comes naturally to me. I check all the settings of all the programs that I have. Its a habit when you work in IT So how do you use WMP11? Well its simple when you know how. First off settings. Load WMP11 then go to 'Options'. In 'Options' and under the 'Library' tab, uncheck all the boxes. You dont want WMP11 doing things on its own. This will give you manual control of your music. Also click on the 'Monitor Folders' button. A window will pop-up. In here you can tell WMP11 what music folders to monitor. Once you are done with the settings, go to the library. Here are all the music which WMP11 can see. Now in order to pull down all the correct music info and album art, we need to connect to Microsoft servers. Select a album, then right click. Select 'Find Album Info'. A window will pop-up, which connects to a server somewhere. Now here is where a little patience is required. If the ID3 info in the mp3 files are correct, then WMP11 finds album art in one go. Then its case of clicking 'Finish' and you are done. If not, we move on to the next stage.

Sometimes you will find that the ID3 info isnt correct, and WMP11 will ask you check it. Then its a case of matching the songs you have with the info WMP11 has pulled from the server. After that click 'Finish'.

If WMP11 can find the album info, you can search for it. Just make sure you have the correct album name.

Tip: Use Amazon to verify WMP11 is doing everything correctly.

Now this all may sound long-winded, but trust me when you do it, its very quick.

For syncing to the A818, just connect it. WMP11 will pick it up.

And thats all folks!

[aob9]

juli - I have used SonicStage. I used to own a Sony NetMD few years back. Obviously back then no one liked SonicStage and they still dont, but to be honest I never had a problem with SonicStage.

Anyways onto WMP11. Yes there are some settings to be checked. But this comes naturally to me. I check all the settings of all the programs that I have. Its a habit when you work in IT So how do you use WMP11? Well its simple when you know how. First off settings. Load WMP11 then go to 'Options'. In 'Options' and under the 'Library' tab, uncheck all the boxes. You dont want WMP11 doing things on its own. This will give you manual control of your music. Also click on the 'Monitor Folders' button. A window will pop-up. In here you can tell WMP11 what music folders to monitor. Once you are done with the settings, go to the library. Here are all the music which WMP11 can see. Now in order to pull down all the correct music info and album art, we need to connect to Microsoft servers. Select a album, then right click. Select 'Find Album Info'. A window will pop-up, which connects to a server somewhere. Now here is where a little patience is required. If the ID3 info in the mp3 files are correct, then WMP11 finds album art in one go. Then its case of clicking 'Finish' and you are done. If not, we move on to the next stage.

Sometimes you will find that the ID3 info isnt correct, and WMP11 will ask you check it. Then its a case of matching the songs you have with the info WMP11 has pulled from the server. After that click 'Finish'.

If WMP11 can find the album info, you can search for it. Just make sure you have the correct album name.

Tip: Use Amazon to verify WMP11 is doing everything correctly.

Now this all may sound long-winded, but trust me when you do it, its very quick.

For syncing to the A818, just connect it. WMP11 will pick it up.

And thats all folks!

Thanks for that prankz...very helpful.

I also found a solution to my own album art problem. I don't know why it works, but it does.

What I did was open up both Media Manager and My Music folder. By dragging the required folder from my musict to the Walkman transfer window all the relevant tag info is transferred. I honestly cannot explain why it works using this method and not by any other.

See Image attached.

See image attached.

[juli_]

So how do you use WMP11? Well its simple when you know how. First off settings. Load WMP11 then go to 'Options'. In 'Options' and under the 'Library' tab, uncheck all the boxes. You dont want WMP11 doing things on its own. This will give you manual control of your music. Also click on the 'Monitor Folders' button. A window will pop-up. In here you can tell WMP11 what music folders to monitor.

For syncing to the A818, just connect it. WMP11 will pick it up.

Funnily enough, despite thinking I was an 'accomplished WMP user' - I did not know about the 'monitor folders' option!

I always used the 'add to library' function which was more long winded. So I've learnt something new

Now here's a poser for you. I have everything disabled in WMP so it does NOTHING on its own. And yet, occasionally I'll notice my album art has changed. For example, I have a nice Mike Oldfield 'Ommadawn' cover which has been happily minding its own business for months, and then suddenly, it decides to display a Pink Floyd cover instead. I have this type of thing happen every couple of weeks, then I have to go back and change everything again. What's SPOOKY, is 'what' is changing it if internet access has been disallowed under WMP options? It's as if a naughty gremlin is shuffling around in my music folder when I'm not looking and swapping covers willy nilly!

As for the 'sync' feature, yes, it's excellent. I bought my sister in law the little B105 and set it up before I sent it to her, and the sync was very fast and efficient.

[prankz]

Juli, look in the 'Privacy' tab under 'Options' in WMP11. Uncheck the first two boxes under 'Enhanced Playback and Device Experience'. Also under 'Library' tab, uncheck everything. This should stop WMP11 connecting to the Net.

[juli_]

Juli, look in the 'Privacy' tab under 'Options' in WMP11. Uncheck the first two boxes under 'Enhanced Playback and Device Experience'. Also under 'Library' tab, uncheck everything. This should stop WMP11 connecting to the Net.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! Under Library tab, everything was already unchecked - but in the Privacy options, the first box was checked. I've taken the tick out, so let's see what happens

Thanks for that, much appreciated!

[prankz]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! Under Library tab, everything was already unchecked - but in the Privacy options, the first box was checked. I've taken the tick out, so let's see what happens

Thanks for that, much appreciated!

No probs.